1.2 Purpose of this waste assessment - Waikato District Council

Introduction1.1 Legislative contextThe principal solid waste legislation in New Zealand is the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 (WMA). The statedpurpose of the WMA is to:“encourage waste minimisation and a decrease in waste disposal in order to(a) protect the environment from harm and(b) provide environmental, social, economic, and cultural benefits.To further its aims, the WMA requires territorial authorities to promote effective and efficient wastemanagement and minimisation within their district. To achieve this, all territorial authorities (TAs) are requiredby the legislation to adopt a waste management and minimisation plan (WMMP). This requirement was firstintroduced in the Local Government Acts 1974 and 2002, and most TAs had adopted a plan prior to the 2008legislation.The WMA requires every TA to complete a formal review of its existing waste management plan by 1 July2012. The review must be consistent with WMA sections 50 and 51. Prior to reviewing its existing plan,Section 50 of the WMA also requires all TAs to prepare a ‘waste assessment’. This document has beenprepared in fulfilment of that requirement.An evaluation of the Waikato District Council’s (the council) existing Waste Management Plan, which wasadopted in 2002, shows that many objectives and projects outlined in the plan have been superseded and theexisting plan does not appear to fulfil the requirements of the WMA. As a result of these issues, the councilhas decided to revoke the existing plan and prepare a new WMMP.In addition, the boundary changes to the Waikato district resulting from the amalgamation of councils in theAuckland region raise many questions around waste management that the council now needs to resolve andincorporate into its waste management planning.1.2 Purpose of this waste assessmentThis waste assessment is intended to provide an initial step to the development of a waste management andminimisation plan (WMMP), and should provide the information necessary to identify the key issues and priorityactions that will be included in the draft WMMP.Section 51 of the WMA outlines the requirements of a waste assessment, which must include:1. A description of the collection, recycling, recovery, treatment, and disposal services provided withinthe territorial authority’s district2. A forecast of future demands3. Astatement of options4. A statement of the territorial authority’s intended role in meeting demands5. A statement of the territorial authority’s proposals for meeting the forecast demands6. A statement about the extent to which the proposals will protect public health, and promote effectiveand efficient waste management and minimisation1.3 Scope1.3.1 GeneralAs well as fulfilling the statutory requirements of the WMA, this waste assessment will build a solid foundation6